Bundle his recording at St. Joseph Medical Center

1717 South J Street, Tacoma, WA · Vmfh · · NPI 1952309098

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Feb 28, 2026 · Ingested Sep 17, 2026

$2,880.64

Cash price

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Discounted cash price

What a hospital charges a self-pay patient who pays directly, without going through insurance — usually well below the gross charge.

Example: A CT scan has a $3,200 gross charge but an $850 discounted cash price. Ask for it by name when scheduling — hospitals don't always advertise it up front.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$8,697.62

Gross charge

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Gross charge (chargemaster price)

The hospital's full, undiscounted list price — pulled from its internal "chargemaster" price list. Almost no one actually pays this.

Example: A chest X-ray has a gross charge of $1,450. The same hospital's discounted cash price for the same X-ray is $180 — the gross charge mostly anchors negotiations, not what patients pay.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$3,596.53 with First Choice vs $37,842.90 with Aetna — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
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Negotiated rate

The price a specific insurance plan agreed to pay the hospital for a service — it varies by insurer, and even by plan within the same insurer.

Example: The same knee MRI has a negotiated rate of $904 with one insurer's PPO plan and $1,509 with another's — identical hospital, identical scan.

Full explanation →

Payer
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Payer

The insurance company footing the bill — Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Medicare, and so on.

Example: "Blue Cross Blue Shield" is the payer. Its negotiated rate for an MRI might be $904, while a different payer's negotiated rate for the same scan is $1,509.

Full explanation →
Plan
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Plan

The specific product an insurer sells — e.g. "Blue Cross PPO 500" — which sets your deductible, coinsurance and negotiated rates.

Example: Two people both insured by Aetna can owe very different amounts for the same MRI: $50 with an HMO plan's flat copay, or the full $1,200 toward a high-deductible PPO plan's unmet deductible.

Full explanation →
Negotiated rate vs. cash
First Choice Commercial|All Plans $3,596.53 ↑ +25%
Aetna Commercial|Rental $6,262.29 ↑ +117%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $6,523.22 ↑ +126%
Cigna Commercial|All Plans $6,725.00 ↑ +133%
Seattle Medical Group Medicare|All Plans $8,438.11 ↑ +193%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $8,600.66 ↑ +199%
SoundPath Medicare|All Plans $8,600.66 ↑ +199%
Optum Medicare|All Plans $8,686.67 ↑ +202%
BCBS - Premera Medicare|All Plans $8,858.68 ↑ +208%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $8,858.68 ↑ +208%
BCBS - Regence Medicare|All Plans $8,858.68 ↑ +208%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $9,202.71 ↑ +219%
United Medicare|All Plans $9,288.71 ↑ +222%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $9,288.71 ↑ +222%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $9,374.72 ↑ +225%
CHPW Medicare|All Plans $9,890.76 ↑ +243%
Molina Commercial|Marketplace Exchange $16,513.27 ↑ +473%
Coordinated Care Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $17,029.31 ↑ +491%
Sound Family Medicine Commercial|All Plans $17,201.32 ↑ +497%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange $17,287.84 ↑ +500%
Kaiser Commercial|HMO $18,319.14 ↑ +536%
Uniform Medical Plan Commercial|All Plans $18,457.21 ↑ +541%
Kaiser Commercial|PPO $20,152.47 ↑ +600%
BCBS - Regence Commercial|All Plans $21,163.99 ↑ +635%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|All Other Plans $24,991.24 ↑ +768%
United Commercial|Navigate $27,139.45 ↑ +842%
United Commercial|Cascade Care $28,568.25 ↑ +892%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $28,568.25 ↑ +892%
Aetna Commercial|AWH $32,166.47 ↑ +1017%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $37,842.90 ↑ +1214%

Visitor-reported prices

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Bundle his recording at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Tacoma $13,480.40 $4,379.03 – $52,953.08
MultiCare Allenmore Hospital Tacoma $13,480.40 $4,400.95 – $37,440.17
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $16,884.00 $9,031.93 – $28,663.41
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $6,454.70 $8,691.51 – $22,119.90
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $16,884.00 $9,031.93 – $27,603.98
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $16,884.00 $9,057.27 – $28,663.41
Central Medical Center Seattle $16,303.20 not published
Kadlec Regional Medical Center Richland $4,812.50 $330.46 – $21,835.98

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →